Chapter 192: Falling into the Same Trap
Beyond the Wall, True North
POV of Domeric Bolton
'Fire? Heat? Light? Life?' Domeric had a lot of ideas about the elements he would use to increase the hierarchy of his magic, but now wasn't the time to think about them. This was a project he'd need to think about for a while, and one he'd probably have to work on for a long time.
"You're right." Then he spoke loudly, "Gather the bodies and burn them. We'll continue after…"
His words were cut off as a hand reached out from the snowy ground he was standing upon and grabbed his leg, making his eyes widen in shock, understanding, and irritation.
"AMBUSH! FORM A CIRCLE!" Domeric shouted before hundreds of wights burst out from beneath the ground while he berated himself for falling for the same stupid trick twice.
The Wights seemed rather fond of jumping out from the ground in a genuine imitation of the dead. But that didn't mean that the trick didn't work.
Sometimes the simplest tricks worked the best.
The dead jumping out from the ground quickly outnumbered them and surrounded their entire group from every side.
Two wights held onto his legs while half a dozen others surrounded him and stabbed at him with their bones, stone knives, or rusty old swords.
Domeric quickly unsheathed his swords.
Simple slashes from his swords cleared the area, and he looked around him to see that hundreds of wights had already surrounded them, and hundreds more were coming.
He quickly shouted, "Use the Dragonglass Dagger. USE THE DRAGONGLASS DAGGER!!!"
Then the wights were upon him again, except that they never truly reached up.
Halfway through, they were cut in half, and Varko's resolute face met his own.
"I'll not fail you this time, my lord," Varko said in a grim voice before raising the twin Valyrian Steel Swords he had been given by Domeric, which were disguised as regular frost steel swords.
And then Varko was a whirlwind, cutting through the wights like paper.
But for all his resolve, Varko was just a single man. And for all his skills, he could only protect Domeric from one side.
The Wights attacked him from the other side, and Domeric cut them again, looking over the chaotic battlefield where every man was on his own.
He did not find what he was looking for, and the wights fell upon him once again.
"Back-to-back!" he called out to Varko, and the man was at his back a moment later, decimating any wight that got within a few feet of them.
As he fought against the wight, he hoped that Ygritte, Raksa, and the others were alright.
The magical armor he had given them should work. But if he couldn't find the puppeteer of this whole show, then some of his people will die at its hands.
He couldn't let that happen.
He could have used the fire spell to kill the wights. But the magic in the area was so dominant over his magic that any ranged or area-of-effect spells would immediately lose their effect after he cast them.
"I need to find the White Walker." He told Varko, who grunted and swiped his swords two more times before he pulled him away from there.
He could have easily stopped Varko from pulling him with his enhanced strength, but he trusted the man.
His trust proved to be correct when Varko led him to the center of the battlefield, where the head of the teenage girl that had been stuck to the tree had come alive and was trying to bite anything and anyone in a futile attempt.
Varko took one of his swords and stabbed it in the eye of the girl.
"Climb on it, my lord. Look for the White Walker. I'll protect you from the wights." Varko said, and he nodded and quickly climbed on the Valyrian blade foothold.
Varko took out his Dragonglass dagger as a substitute for the Valyrian blade and continued his own fight while Domeric used this moment to look around the battlefield.
All across the battlefield, he could see dozens of wights attacking each of his men. The ten or so who had fought alongside him before had come out of their shock quickly enough and were using the Dragonglass dagger to kill the wights around them.
Some of the heirs had also heard his shout or were smart enough to know when to use the Dragonglass dagger. Most had not. Or didn't have the opportunity as they were buried under a pile of wights.
Now, Domeric certainly regretted allowing the heirs to come with him. If he lost even a few of them, the consequences could be worse than any gain he might make.
But regret was incurable, and all he could do now was find the White Walker and make sure he didn't kill anyone.
Domeric was sure that as long as he prevented the White Walker from harming others, the magical armor would protect them from many dangers.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he finally saw the White Walker standing in the distance and looking at the battlefield with its cold, blazing eye.
As soon as he saw the White Walker, it turned its face to look at him, and it picked up the Ice Sword buried in the ground.
All of a sudden, the temperature in the area fell sharply, and a cold wind quickly turned into a storm.
Visibility went from perfectly fine to 'bad' before he could think. Of course, its powers would also be enhanced in this area.
"Fuck."
Of course, its powers would also be enhanced in this area.
"Varko!" He said as he jumped down the tree and took out Varko's Valyrian sword.
Varko turned around and looked at him. He handed the sword to Varko and said, "Let's end this."
'Time to deal with this fucker.' Domeric thought.
He was growing tired of this chase and the whole business of proving the White Walkers to everyone.
He wanted to end it as soon as possible and return to his castle.
So this was the last time. He would clear everything up here, return home, and focus on his own projects instead of chasing undead in these freezing lands.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.193: Existential Crisis
Ch.194: Unexpected Death